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After becoming the smartphone market leader in China last year, Samsung has reportedly broken records by shipping 12.5 million handsets in the first quarter of 2013, more than doubling sales of Apple’s iPhone.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, as reported by The Korean Herald (via The Next Web), Samsung broke a smartphone sales record in the booming Chinese smartphone market during the first quarter, selling some 12.5 million handsets, while Apple’s iPhone saw sales of 6.1 million units.

Quarter-on-quarter, Samsung boosted its share of the Chinese smartphone market by 2.2 percent, leaving the Korean company with 18.5 percent of all sales for the three month period ending in March. This is the first quarter Samsung sold over 10 million smartphones in the country.

Online merchants such as Apple and Ticketmaster can require consumers to furnish personal information to make transactions with acredit card, a divided California Supreme Court ruled Monday, delivering a blow to consumer advocates worried about privacy in cyberspace. In the 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court found that a two-decade-old California consumer protection law does not apply to the multibillion-dollar online commerce world, siding with Apple and other e-tailers in a legal battle over how much personal information buyers must give up in credit card transactions. The justices concluded that consumers can be required to give personal data, such as home address and phone number, to verify a credit card when buying a downloadable product from Apple, such as an iTunes song. [Silicon Valley Mercury News]

Apple just announced that the App Store just hit its 50 billionth app download ever. To celebrate the event, Apple said it would give a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to the person who downloads the 50 billionth app. Apple’s also giving $500 App Store Gift Cards to the next 50 people to download an app after the 50 billion mark.

Download contests have been held by Apple in the past the celebrate the App Store’s popularity. In 2011, Gail Davis downloaded the 10 billionth app on the App Store and received a $10,000 iTunes gift card. Last year’s winner was Fu Chunli from Qindao, China. She also received a $10,000 iTunes gift card, but was flown to Apple’s Chinese HQ in Beijing to accept the award.

Apple hasn’t announced the winners of the App Store contest yet, but we expect Apple will make an official announcement within the next few days.No word yet from Apple on who the winner is, but we’re sure to hear about it soon.

With Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) a month away, speculation as to what iOS 7 will bring is at a fever pitch. Various sites have reported a spike in Apple’s internal use of iOS 7 as the annual festival of tech approaches. Given Apple’s talent for edgy and clue-ladden advertising, I believe the WWDC official logo provides hints right under our noses as to the near-certain iOS 7 aesthetic redesign; the letters WWDC are overlaid on a stack of rounded squares (Apple’s famous icon shape for apps). If these shapes are in fact the new icons for iOS 7 (and I believe they are), then we have a reasonable clue as to what colors the system apps will sport. Among these is a very noticeable red icon. These various new icons will almost certainly have a redesigned logo to accompany their new colors, and we can expect that Apple has taken incredible pains to make sure there is a certain aesthetic “logic” to the overall redesign. Interestingly, various attempts have been made to visualize what iOS 7 will bring, but few of them have seemed to incorporate this clue on the WWDC logo. One, however, has garnered some well-deserved attention.

Tim Green’s visualisation

Tim Green at Medium.com has given what I believe to be the most realistic iOS 7 visualization to date. He takes the Messages app and incorporates the much-rumored “flat” design with the aforementioned aesthetic “logic” which he believes has been slowly incorporated into recent popular app updates (Facebook, Google Drive, Dropbox, Pintrest, etc.). This movement is not towards a completely flat UI, but rather

a mellowing out of the visual indicators that people need to trigger the idea of a tappable element. Why? Because this is not 2007 anymore, and we are all now fully aware of the medium and the process; we don’t need to be led garishly by the hand. There is still a sense of depth and tactility but done in a refined and suggestive way, sensitive to the changed perceptions that people have of interacting with touchscreens.

If the above assessment of a UI trend is accurate, then what app will have be represented by a red icon? Please God, let it be Pages.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — DAP chairman Karpal Singh today welcomed the Registrar of Societies (RoS)’s statement that the party may not be punished for a vote-counting glitch in the party’s own elections last December.
“I welcome the statement by the Registrar of Societies, Datuk Abdul Rahman Othman, that the DAP may not be necessarily be penalised for its party election glitch as the RoS did not intend to deregister the party,” Karpal wrote in a three-paragraph statement today.
“The DAP will give the Registrar of Societes every cooperation in its investigation into the complaints made over the legality of the recent election of the CEC. No doubt, there must be closure to this matter as soon as possible,” the Bukit Gelugor MP said.
Abdul Rahman, the RoS director-general, was reported by The Star today to have said that the body had no intention to deregister DAP as alleged.
The weekend edition of another English-language daily, the New Sunday Times (NST), today quoted him as saying that the RoS “were portrayed unfairly on the issue.”
“We want the party members and supporters to stop spreading the news that we are going to de-register them because nothing has been decided yet,”
He was referring to an April 17 letter issued by RoS, where the DAP was informed that its central executive committee (CEC) elected in December was not valid, leading to a controversy over the party’s status just a few days before the April 20 nomination day.
But Abdul Rahman said the letter did not stop DAP from taking part in elections, with the previous CEC still having the authority to appoint candidates.
“So, that was why there was technically no problem for its secretary-general (who was also in the previous line-up) to appoint candidates during the recent election nor were they prevented from using their party logo,” he was quoted saying by NST.
On April 20, DAP candidates had in the end contested using the party’s logo, after the RoS assured DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng that the candidates’ validity would not be affected.
Karpal today welcomed Abdul Rahman’s clarification on why DAP candidates were allowed to use the party’s rocket symbol in last week’s polls.
“I hope this clarification by the Registrar of Societies will put an end to persistent and uncalled for calls by various quarters that the use of the rocket symbol in the general elections had nullified the elections of all successful DAP candidates,” Karpal said.

A new program from American Express lets Twitter users post special hashtags to buy gift cards and things like Xbox 360 gaming consoles or a Kindle Fire HD from Amazon. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

N.J. Calls Off Credit Card Pitches to Students at Public Colleges

Companies that issue credit cards can no longer market them to students at New Jersey public colleges under a law Governor Christie signed Thursday. The new law prohibits public colleges from entering into agreements that would allow students to be targeted in “direct merchandising of credit cards,” which includes displays. Rutgers and Rowan Universities are among the schools that fall under the law. The bill passed the state Assembly and Senate at the end of last year with overwhelming bipartisan support. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Eight States Join Challenge of Law That Regulates Financial Industry

Eight state attorneys general have joined a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The move comes more than four months after three other AGs joined the suit, which was originally filed in June by the State National Bank of Big Spring in Texas, the 60 Plus Association and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The plaintiffs allege there are no effective checks and balances in the law. Dodd-Frank was signed into law in July 2010 and aimed to regulate the financial industry. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Joining the lawsuit was West Virginia, Montana, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, Nebraska and Ohio. [West Virginia Record]

Areas with Worst Credit Scores All Found in the South

TransUnion has released its ranking of metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest consumer credit score in the country. The cities in the bottom ten are all in the South, while the cities in the top ten are scattered throughout the country. Two areas in northern California—San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (700) and San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont (696)–have the highest scores. Memphis is the area with the lowest credit score with 638. [LowCards.com]

You know who I’m talking about. The woman at work who’s always perfectly coiffed. Everyday, from head to toe, she looks as though she walked off a Vogue cover shoot, impeccably dressed, effortlessly styled, breezing through the office with an air of confidence you thought was reserved for movie stars and CEOs. And while she’s constantly crushing it at her job, she also goes to SoulCycle every morning. Oh, and she’s got two kids. How could we forget that? So our biggest question is–how does she manage to leave the house looking presentable, let alone impeccable?!

Perhaps, dear friends, she has tapped into The 5-Minute Face. Let’s be honest, whether you’re like your power co-worker or not, most of us are not blessed with the luxury of time. Or maybe for you Sephora is more like a maze of mystery than a palatial playground? Fret not. We tapped into 4 beauty experts to get their take on the 5-Minute Face–for when you just don’t have the time or when you just want to keep things simple.

Emmy® Award Winning Beauty Expert Kevin James Bennett says that first and foremost, that skincare is your #1 concern:

“Dealing with skin ‘challenges’ eats up the precious time you should be spending getting gorgeous. A quick exfoliation will clear away dull, dead skin cells that are preventing your makeup from sitting pretty and looking it’s best. I love ‘enzyme’ exfoliants because they’re extremely effective and gentle enough to use frequently. One of my faves is Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant, which uses fruit (papain) and rice enzymes.”

And for putting on that foundation, he recommends a tinted moisturizer (a BB/CC Cream) but says to avoid the store-bought stuff and just make your own!

“I love the versatility of a medium to full coverage liquid makeup that can be multi-purpose and Make Up For Ever’s HD Foundation is perfect for this. Put a small amount of foundation on the heel of your palm and then mix in a few drops of treatment oil designed for all skin types, like Nude Skincare’s ProGenius. Apply to your skin while it’s still slightly damp (after you’ve exfoliated and patted dry). It will seal in the moisture, even out your skin tone, cover minor imperfections, and leave a gorgeous glow. Apply a little of the full strength foundation where you need extra coverage.”

Lastly, KJ says that for a truly fast (and fabulous) face, he loves a good baked bronzer:

“[They] can be used wet or dry and offer multiple application options. I reach for Urban Decay Baked Bronzer for Face & Body and apply it to all the high points of the face (cheeks, hairline, bridge of the nose, base of the chin). This creates instant warmth and dimension. I use the same bronzer, smudged softly all over the eyelid into the eye crease instead of traditional eye shadow. Then I rub a little into well-moisturized lips and add a top coat of clear or sparkling gloss. All that’s left is a quick dash of eyeliner and a few coats of black mascara and you’re good to go!”

Makeup artist Matin takes a more direct approach:

“I don’t believe in a full face of make up in under 5 minutes. Either wear very little and wear it well or don’t bother putting make-up on in a hurry and look cheap and messy. So pick your battle in time crunch. Use a concealer, in Laura Mercier there is a cream palette called ‘Bonne Mine‘ which has sheer bronzer, sheer lip/cheek color and highlight/eye shadow colors. It can quickly be used with fingers. Finish up with mascara. Another option is use concealer to perfect flaws and do a super bright or dark lip. Mascara!”

We are ALL about a bold lip over here.

Marissa Nemes is all too familiar with the 5-minute face, which she has coined “mommy makeup” for her clients with kids, always looking for a fresh look on-the-go.

“To start off, apply a pea size amount of BB cream on moisturized/clean skin. Try Tarte or Smashbox, as they stay put all day long. Conceal blemishes and your under-eye area with a concealer/brightener like Givenchy Mr. Light since it’s dual purpose will brighten your skin in a heartbeat. With a multi-use/triple action product like the NARS Multiple Stick, blend onto the eye lids as a cream shadow, over the apples of the cheeks, and on the lips as a stain. Apply 2 coats of Maybelline mascara in black to open up and define the eyes and finally, seal the 5-minute fresh look with a glossy lip (over the optional stained lip) using Chanel Glossimer which has amazing staying power. One final step would be to use the Mary Kay finishing spray which locks in makeup for up to 16 hours! This may even be a ’5 minutes or less’ look!”

Finally, makeup artist Penny Sadler gets straight to the point:

“If you only have 5 minutes, use that time to perfect the skin. Minimize blemishes and shine with a color correct concealer. And don’t forget to cover discoloration underneath the eyes.”

Seems like it’s all about the skin, huh? Here’s a product that can keep your skin clear from the get-go and a video to run down the beauty basics we’ll never get tired of hearing.

Don't ever change yourself to impress someone, cause they should be impressed that you don't change to please others -- When you are going through something hard and wonder where God is, always remember that the teacher is always quiet during a test --- Unknown